Electroplating apparatus.



C. G. BAGKUS. ELEGTROPLATING APPARATUS. APPLIOATION FILED APB. 13, 190s.

903,4.39 Patented Jan. 5, 1909.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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'Z 5 l 72 7l WW1/wond nu@ n lo c M Y Cla rJ/z ce 6 Back us C. G. BAGKUS.ELECTROPLATIN G APPARATUS. APPLIUATIUN FILED APB. i3, 190s.

993,439.. Patented Jan. 5, 1909.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

G. G. BAGKUS. vELECTROPIJATIBTG APPARATUS. APPLIUATION FILED APR. 1s,'1908.

QSAS Patensed Jan. 5, 1909.

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5f KF 3@ a 52 53 42 @a 6; 55 5,5 59 44 ff? 45 57 E: 62 5526 @l f@ C. G.BACKUS. ELEGTROPLATING APPARATUS. APPLICATION PILED'AP'R. 1a, 190eI`908,439. A Patented m1151909 I @ma MfUoI/l You M Clarence 6.5ac/'us.UNrrED s ras es;

CLARENCE G-.BACKUS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO ZUCKER d' LEVETT &LOEB COM- PANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORORATON OF NEW YORK..

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 5, 1909.

Application met Allyn 13, lect. senti no. esatte.

' v electroplating cylinder or drum may be' 15 easily inserted in orremoved from the tank.

A further object of my invention is to provide a drum for suchelectroplating apparatus in-which a good electrical contact ismaintained with articles being plated with- 2'0 out the use ofconnecting wires cr other devices-for conveying the electric current tosuch articles, and whereby the electroplating fluid at all times hasafree and full access to the articles being treated.

Afurther object of my invention is to vrovide a system of transmissionmechanism easy of access, not liable to get out of order,

posit produced thereby.

- Other objects and advantages of the im- "proved apparatus will beapparent heref'br.:

of vvone-form of my improved electroplating apparatus which I at presentdeem pretera e, reference may be had to the following specification andto the accompanying drawin s forming a part thereof, in whichigure 1 isa verticallorigitudinal sectional view showin the parts in positionwithin thetank, suc as when the tank is in operation; Fig. 2 is aplanview thereof, the drum .45 or cylinder being shown partly broken away;

Figf is a vertical transverse sectional view ofthe apparatus takensubstantially through its central portion; lFig. 4 is a transversesectional view showing being shown disconnected; Fig. 5 is a verticalsectional view of the driving shaft which opcrates the gearing connectedwith the drum or cylinder vand taken substantially en the or rotatingthe cylinder or drum that is For a Jfull, clear and complete disclosure'one end oi the-tank in' elevation, the gearing for driving the drum axisof said shaft; Fig. 6 is a vertical sectional view of thepivoted supportfor the gearing for driving the drum; lligs. 7 and 8 are sectional andelevational views, respectively, of the means for supporting thecontacts mounted upon the shaft within the drum ;l Fig. 9 is a plan'viewof the parts of which the surface of the drum is made up; Fig. 10 is asectional view or a portion of the electrcplating drum or cylinder;Figs. l1 and 12 are sections and elevations, respectively, of a modifiedform of the manner oi constructing the electroplating drum.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 1 indicates the tank orreceptacle for the-electroplating fluid, and is made of suitableliquid-proof and non-conducting material, such as wood in the well-knownform. The electroplating drum or cylinder 2, which is adapted'to beplaced in andv removed from the tank l, consists of two ends or heads 3and 4, the peri heries of which are connected 'by a series ofongitudinal strips 5 of a substance which will resist the electroplatingiluid, and which also will not conduct the electric current, such asWood. The sides o'r' these strips 5, of course, taper toward they axisof the drum, and are provided with 'series of grooves 5', which arestaggered on the Iadj acent strips and form openings through which theelectroplating lluld may pass to the interior of the drumas the samerevolves in the tank. These strips 5 may be fastened to the heads 3 and4 by means of screws orA other fastening devices, and when screws areused their heads are countersunk and the recesses thereby formed arethen plugged up or iilled with suitable Huid-proof' plugs, to preventinjury to the said screws. A ortion of the wall of the drum is remov--ab e for the purpose of inserting and withdrawing the articles to beplated. The removable section is composed of a seriesof strips 7, madein amarmer similar to the strips 5, but are fastened together in anysuitable way so as to form a unitary curved plate or door. One end` of.this door is provided with a transverse groove 7 passing ythrough all ofthe strips, and this groove is adaptedv y to receive a strapv 8', whichconnects toand is' supported by the adjacent strips formingthe peripheryof the' drum. The other endrof the door, composing the strip 7, isprovidedrwi'th a hole through which passes a thumb sere It will be seenby on the ends of the tank 1.

be placed in position by rst inserting one end under the strip 8 andthen securing theothei' end in position by'means of the thumb screw 9.The central shaft 10, fcr'supporting the drum, is provided with bearingsleeves 11 adjacent each end, which are carried within hollow bosses 12and 13, projecting through holes'in the heads 3 and 4., The shaft l10 isgrooved at each end as indicated at 14, and is adapted to receive theends of screws or pins 15 (see Fig. I4) carried by' the bearingcaps 16,for the purpose of retaining the times. The bearing caps 16 are carriedon 'the ends, of suitable supporting arms 17, the upper endsof which areprovided with suita e gri s or handles 18, and are also connected y asuitable spacing rod 19. The bearing caps 15 on the ends of shafts 10are ada ted to fit within Vsl1aped recesses in the locks 20, fastenedcentrally in position These blocks form supports for holding the drum inposition during the electroplating process. The upper ends of the arms'17 carry laterally extending blocks 2,1-, which are provided on theirunder surfaces with V-shaped grooves adapted to fit over in contact withthe correspondingly shaped projections 22 carriedby t e c'ontactplates.23,.as clearlyv shown in Fig-1. The contact plates 23 areprovided with small vertically pivoted hand levers 24,

which are adapted to bear upon the surfaces electrical contact with thecontact plates 23. Said contact plates 23 are provided with holes, inwhich the conductors 25`may be secured. It will thus' be seenthat acontinuous electric connection is made with the axleof the drum throughthe lconductor 25, the'contact-plate 22, the blocks 21, the arms17,'tl1e bearing, caps 16 and the shaft 10.

In order to convey the current tothe artie.

cles beingr plated, I mount upon the shaft a series of split collars 26,thel semicircular ortions of which-are pivoted as indicated in ies. 7and 8, so as collars" are held ltogether by means of atube ora sleeve27, through which is adapted pin'28 is also adapted 29, carried by ayokepiece 30. his yoke-piece 30 is lprovided with a number of holes orslots 31, adapted to receive the upper looped en ds ,or eyes of a numberof pendants: 32, having knobs or balls 33 at tter lower ends. Thesependants aresimilar in shape to the tongue of a bell, and theknobsalttheir lower ends are adapted to hang a slight distance abovethel inner ower surface of the cylinder, so as to come an small articleswhich are in contact with beingelectroplate and which' fall to the endsof the shaft within said caps at all blocks 21 and hold the same ingood.

l to be removable fron). the shaft. Y The lower-,ends of the halves ofthese this construction thatthe l lower order to. form a and 36.Attachedl to t ortion of the cylinder., The collars 26 are he d apart atsuitable distances on VVthe shaft .10 by means of'i's'ul'ating'sleeves26', which also prevent the electroplating fluid from ,comingl intocontact with the said shaft 10.

'Ihe mechanism for driving the drum is constructed as follows: A gear 34is carried u on the head`3 of the drum 1 and is prefera ly rigidlyattached to the hollow boss 12. The Gear 34 is adapted to mesh with thegear 35,w 'ch in turn meshes with-a gear 36. The gears 35 and .36 arecarried upon a' unitary supporting frame, and are so pivoted that theymay `be raised and thrown back out of the tank to allow the unobstructedremoval of the drum, as indicated in Fig."4, This gear-sup orting framecomprises a plate 37, having downwardly extending anges 38 adapted tohold the said plate 37 upon the upper edge of one end o the tank. Said pate is also provided with outwardly extending ears 39, between whichbearin throng the ears 39 and .the bearing 40, in pivot for the bar 42,which forms the removable su port for the'gears 35 lie bar 42 is alaterally extending plate 43- provided with bearings 44 for the gearshaft 45,. thegear 36 being mounted upon said gear-shaft 45; 'The plate.

43 also .carries a (pair of parallel arms 46', which are. provide attheir outer ends with bearings 4.7,l adapted to receive the-shaft 48 ofthe gear^`^35. he plate 43'isialso adapted to carry thegear-cas'e 49,which inclo'ses the upper half of the-gear 36 when the gearsare A-suitable support, such as the handle; 66,

limits the movement of the frame carrying the gears 35 and 36, when thesame are in iny operative position.

The gearing for driving' operated in v to drive the same throughthemediumof a cone pulley '51 fixed to the hollow shaft 52 supported insuitable bearings 53A on the frame 54 attached to one end ofthe tank. Inorder to make the frame 54 rig id with the supporting frame for thegears 35 and 36 the is placed a 40. A transverse pin 41 passes 1noperative position for driving .the drum? the `'drum may be any suitablemanner,butlLprefer ion 4uit

plate 43 is provided with a downwardly eX-Y fr tending apron 55, towhich the v frame 54is attached. In order to` allow the sleeve 52,'driven by` the .cone pulley 51, to be disconnected from the gear-shaft45, I place within the sleeve 52 a longitudinally sliding pin 56, havingat one end a suitable handle 57 and at its other en'd a disk 58 providedwith a tongue 59. lThe gear Ashaft 45 is also provided with a disk 60,in .which is formed the groove 61, adapted to receive the tongue A59. Inorder to hold the tongue 59 within the 'groove 61 when theelectroplating drum is being driven, a helical compression spring: 62 isprovided, which is seated within a'cylineea/ies the lugs 62 are soseated, the driving connee y, tion with the gearsA will be complete,-but

when the in 56 is Withdrawn and slightly f rotated in ependently of thesleeve 52, the

lugs 62 will rest upon the end of said sleeve and maintain the pin inits withdrawn position, thereby keeping the tongue 59 and the groove 61disengaged.

In order to protect the clutch formed byI the disks 58 and 60, the bar42 is extended andl curved upwardly, as indicated at 42a, to

form a semi-circular casing above said clutch.

The bar then extends outwardly and forms a lug 64, provided with -arecess or opening to receive the pin 65 for holding the bar 42 laterally-in position on the plate 37. A handle 66 is preferably providedfor lifting the bar 42 and its attached parts, including the gears and36. The handle 66 is carried upon the upper end of a stem 67, which iscarried in holes in the bar 42 and the plate 43. The lower end of thestem 67 is provided with a transverse pin` 63 and passes through aslotted opening 69 in the plate 37 fixed upon the edge of the tank 1.lVhen the pin 63 is passed through the slot 69 in the plate 37 and isrotated, the bar 42 -is locked in position on the plate 37,'and byreason of the electroplatingv apparatus.

the fact that the gears 35 and 36 are supported by this bar 42, the gear35 lis held in mesh with the gear 34 when the drum 2 is in its operativeposition within the tank.

The pendants formed by the parts 32 and 33 obviously form the negativeelectrodes of The positive electrodes or anodes consist yof the curvedbars 70, provided with hooks 71 at their upper ends, which are adaptedto engage with 7 the supporting bars or conductors 72 that are connectedwith the positive terminal of the generator or other source of electriccurrent. I

By the construction and arrangement above described, it will be seenthat the electroplating drum 2 and the arms 17 may be easily withdrawnfrom the tank by simpl taking hold of the handles 18 and lifting thesame upward, after-the gears 35 and 36 have been thrown back out of theway. In electroplating tanks of large size, and where a large number ofarticles are electroplated within the drum, the drum may be removed bysimply attaching the falls of a crane or a b ook and tackle to thehandles 18, after which the drum maybe transported to any other part ofthe electroplating plant or room In order to cause theV and its contentsdeposited in any convenient receptacle. Great economy in time andexpense of handling the articles being eleetroplated is therebyobtained. y

In Figs. 11 and 12 I have showna modificationv of the manner of formingthe curved wall of the cylinder, and this modification is especially,adapted for use where small articles are being plated, which would beliable Ato pass through the straight openings in the cylinder as shownin Fig. 10. The angular openings 73 may, of course, be formed by boringintersecting holes in the strips 5, but are preferably formed by cuttinggrooves 74 inthe angular sides 75 of the strips 76. By

small articles may pass intothe entrance of the groove 74 to a slightextent, they will be prevented from passing entirely through the groovesby the intersecting angular portions thereof.

Having thus described these forms of my invention, I do not wish to belimited to the exact details of form or arrangement set forth, butvarious changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scopeof my invention.

Therefore, what Iclaim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In an electroplating apparatus, a tank,

.80 this construction it will be seen that although a rotatable drum, anexternally mounted driving shaft, an intermediate driving mechanism foroperatively' connecting said shaft and drum, and a pivoted support onwhich said mechanism is carried for withdrawing the same from said drumand shaft' and for allowing the unobstructed removal of the drum fromsaid tank. A

2. In an electroplating apparatus, a tank, a rotatable drum, gearing fordriving said drum, a removable support upon which the intermediate partsof said gearing are mounted for completely withdrawing the same from theinterior of theta-nk.

3.. In an electroplating apparatus, a tank, a rotatable drum,'a gearfixed on said drum, an externally mounted dri-ving shaft, transmissiongears between thefirstnamed gear and said shaft, and a pivoted supportupon which said transmission gears are mounted for withdrawing the sameto allow the unobstructed removal of the drum from said tank.

4. In an electroplatingapparatus, -a tank, a rotatable drum, anexternally mounted driving shaft, transmission'gears, a removablesupport for said gears, a clutch between said driving shaft and one ofsaid gears, and a driving gear for said drum, said transmission gearsbeing removable from engagement with said driving gear and said shaft toallow the unobstructed Withdrawal of the drum from the tank.

5. ln an electroplating apparatus, a tank, a rotatable drum,f` anexternally mounted driving shaft, a longitudinally slidable memsaidsupport above said driving gear When l spring for holding'th'e parts ofsaidl clutch in able pin in said shaft, lugs on said pin adjaz' electrolating drums,'comprisin a tank, re-

4locatedbetween saidshaft and drum, transof the parts of said 'clutchagainst the action bei' carried there-by, a clutch member mount-l edthereon, transmission gears, a removable support for said gears, aclutch 'member connected with one of said gears, means .for operativelyholding said clutch members in engagement, a driving gear for said drum,one of said transmission gears being located on the drum is operativelyin place, but removable therefrom when the drum is Withdrawn.

6. In driving mechanism for an electroplating drum, a driving shaft, apivoted support adjacent the inner end of said shaft and mission gearingcarried by said support, and a clutch, the parts of which are carried bysaid shaft an said support, respeotwely, a

engagement and means for withdrawing one of said sprin -f 7. In drivingmechanism for .an electroplating drum, a hollow driving shaft, aslidcent one end thereof 'and adapted to engage notches in the end ofsaid shaft, a clutch member carriedon the' other end of said pin,transmission gearing, a clutch member connected with said gearing, and aspring connected with said pin for holding said clutch -memb'ers inoperative engagement.

.8. A supporting'and conducting device for electro latingdrumsgcomprising a tank, a drum sliaft, bearings at the ends of saidshaft, arms Which carry said bearings, contact yblocks mounted upon theupper ends of said arms, andstationary contact plates fixed to said tankand adapted to engage said blocks and connected with the' source ofelectric current. l 9. A supporting and conducting device for cessedlocks mounted interior, y thereof, 'a drumshaft, bearings at the ends ofsaid shaft and adapted to engage the recesses in said blocks, arms whichcarry said bearings,

contact blocks'mountedupon thevupper ends of said, arms, and stationarycontact plates on said tank adapted to engage said blocks 12. Acathode'for electroplating drums,l

comprising a drum shaft, a s lit separable collar thereon, a'longitudinally extending yoke-pivoted on said collar, a pinforming thepivot for said yoke and locking the ends ol' said collar, and aplurality of pendent tongues carried by said yoke. I

13. A drum for electroplating apparatus, comprising longitudinal stripsconnecting said fheads, said strips having" transverse grooves in theircontacting edges. j

14. lA drum for electroplating apparatus, comprising vsuitable heads,and contacting longltudinal 'strips connecting said heads,v

said strips having transversely angular openings therein.

15. A drum for electroplating apparatus,

comprising suitable heads, and contacting longitudinal strips connectingsaid heads, said strips having angular edges and angular grooves 1n saidedges.

16. A door for electroplating drums, comprising suitable heads, aperipheral strapV suitable heads, and contacting.

carried by one'head, a plate *engaging said strap at one end, andaremovable fastening devlce at theother end of said' plate for holdingthe same in position upon the opposite head. v

In witness whereof I have sign ed my name hereto, this 25 day ofJanuary, 1908.

CLARENCE G. BACKUS In the presence of- 11C. RosENBLUM, MAX S.GUPONBERGER.

